Study Abroad in Budapest -2014
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The current study explores variance in perceptions of age-appropriateness and overall evaluations of a video game manipulated to contain sexually or violently explicit content as a function of national culture and moral foundations. Purity/Sanctity concerns were the strongest predictor of higher age-appropriateness ratings for sexually explicit (expected) and violent (unexpected) games. US players evaluated the violent game more favorably than Germans. Both evaluated the sexually explicit game similarly, although Germans preferred it to the violent game; US audiences preferred the violent game.It’s too dirty for me, so it’s too dirty for the kids: A cross-comparison of ...
It’s too dirty for me, so it’s too dirty for the kids: A cross-comparison of ...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Advances in realistic graphics and artificial intelligence are hallmarks of evolved video games, as environments and characters are made to seem more real. Little is known, however, about whether or not character model changes may impact players’ relationships with familiar avatars, especially since anthropomorphism – the perception of nonhuman objects as being human or human-like – is understood as central to player-avatar interaction (PAX). This study leveraged a naturally occurring change to one MMO’s avatars to conduct a field quasi-experiment to investigate whether enhanced avatar anthropomorphism influences PAX dimensions: emotional investment, anthropomorphic autonomy, suspension of disbelief, and sense of control. Longitudinal analysis showed that enhanced anthropomorphism had no significant impact on any PAX dimension immediately or over time, when controlling for demographic and gameplay variables. Player comments suggest the change was experienced not as a change in humanness, but as a shift in perceptual realism – believability, lifelikeness, depth – that impacted the experience of the avatar-mediated gameworld more broadly.
Presented at the 2015 convention of the National Communication Association
Now in press at Psychology of Popular Media Culture; pre-press version can be accessed here: https://www.academia.edu/15606926/Of_Beard_Physics_and_Worldness_The_non-_Effect_of_Enhanced_Anthropomorphism_on_Player-Avatar_Relations
Of beard physics and worldness: The (non) effect of enhanced anthropomorphism...
Of beard physics and worldness: The (non) effect of enhanced anthropomorphism...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
This study explores the potential correlation between an adolescent's leisurely video game experience and their narrative composition writing ability in a first-semester University writing course. Our data report moderate correlations between students' aggregated video game experience (years spent playing) and their ability to articulate tension and turn, and use proper organization in composition assignments, notably an early-semester diagnostic essay (assigned on the first day of class, prior to formal instruction). Findings suggest that leisurely gameplay might help develop competency with the same creative skills related to written narrative ability, potentially facilitating the learning of these skills in the classroom.
Citation: Bowman, N. D., Baldwin, C., & Jones, J. (2015, November). Virtual tensions fuel narrative tensions: The impact of leisurely video game experience on first-year college students’ observed composition writing ability. Paper presented at the National Communication Association, Las Vegas. Virtual tensions fuel narrative tensions
Virtual tensions fuel narrative tensionsWest Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Recommended
The current study explores variance in perceptions of age-appropriateness and overall evaluations of a video game manipulated to contain sexually or violently explicit content as a function of national culture and moral foundations. Purity/Sanctity concerns were the strongest predictor of higher age-appropriateness ratings for sexually explicit (expected) and violent (unexpected) games. US players evaluated the violent game more favorably than Germans. Both evaluated the sexually explicit game similarly, although Germans preferred it to the violent game; US audiences preferred the violent game.It’s too dirty for me, so it’s too dirty for the kids: A cross-comparison of ...
It’s too dirty for me, so it’s too dirty for the kids: A cross-comparison of ...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Advances in realistic graphics and artificial intelligence are hallmarks of evolved video games, as environments and characters are made to seem more real. Little is known, however, about whether or not character model changes may impact players’ relationships with familiar avatars, especially since anthropomorphism – the perception of nonhuman objects as being human or human-like – is understood as central to player-avatar interaction (PAX). This study leveraged a naturally occurring change to one MMO’s avatars to conduct a field quasi-experiment to investigate whether enhanced avatar anthropomorphism influences PAX dimensions: emotional investment, anthropomorphic autonomy, suspension of disbelief, and sense of control. Longitudinal analysis showed that enhanced anthropomorphism had no significant impact on any PAX dimension immediately or over time, when controlling for demographic and gameplay variables. Player comments suggest the change was experienced not as a change in humanness, but as a shift in perceptual realism – believability, lifelikeness, depth – that impacted the experience of the avatar-mediated gameworld more broadly.
Presented at the 2015 convention of the National Communication Association
Now in press at Psychology of Popular Media Culture; pre-press version can be accessed here: https://www.academia.edu/15606926/Of_Beard_Physics_and_Worldness_The_non-_Effect_of_Enhanced_Anthropomorphism_on_Player-Avatar_Relations
Of beard physics and worldness: The (non) effect of enhanced anthropomorphism...
Of beard physics and worldness: The (non) effect of enhanced anthropomorphism...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
This study explores the potential correlation between an adolescent's leisurely video game experience and their narrative composition writing ability in a first-semester University writing course. Our data report moderate correlations between students' aggregated video game experience (years spent playing) and their ability to articulate tension and turn, and use proper organization in composition assignments, notably an early-semester diagnostic essay (assigned on the first day of class, prior to formal instruction). Findings suggest that leisurely gameplay might help develop competency with the same creative skills related to written narrative ability, potentially facilitating the learning of these skills in the classroom.
Citation: Bowman, N. D., Baldwin, C., & Jones, J. (2015, November). Virtual tensions fuel narrative tensions: The impact of leisurely video game experience on first-year college students’ observed composition writing ability. Paper presented at the National Communication Association, Las Vegas. Virtual tensions fuel narrative tensions
Virtual tensions fuel narrative tensionsWest Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
An avatar is “an interactive, social representation of a user” (Meadows, 2008, p. 23) in a digital environment. Although avatars broadly include textual screen names or social network profiles, we specifically discuss here the two- or three-dimensional graphic
bodies representing players in online games. These bodies are at least partially controlled by players as they engage a game – in movement, gesturing, communicating, and acting in/on the world – and these interactions constitute a multimodal gaming
literacy that is central to play (Gee, 2004).From toy and tool to partner and person: Phenomenal convergence/ divergence ...
From toy and tool to partner and person: Phenomenal convergence/ divergence ...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
This paper proposes a validated 15-item scale that merges theoretically divergent perspectives on player-avatar relations in extant literature (parasociality as psychological merging and sociality as psychological divergence) into a single instrument that measures player-avatar interaction (PAX). PAX is defined as the perceived social and functional association between an MMO player and game avatar, inclusive of four factors: emotional investment, anthropomorphic autonomy, suspension of disbelief, and sense of player control. These four factors were stable across two large multi-game (N = 494) and game-specific player samples (N = 458), in both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Construct validity tests show scale dimensions have expected significant relationships with a sense of human-like relatedness and player-avatar relationship features, and predictive validity tests indicate theoretically likely and relevant factor associations with gameplay motivations and MMO genres.Emotion, anthropomorphism, realism, control: Validation of a merged metric f...
Emotion, anthropomorphism, realism, control: Validation of a merged metric f...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Advancements in wearable technology have allowed for social information to be inserted directly (albeit conspicuously) into face-to-face interactions. One example is Google Glass, worn similar to a pair of eyeglasses but with a digital display which can provide the wearer an augmented reality of extra-dyadic cues – such as social information (culled from social media programs) – about one’s conversation partners. Such interactions might violate expectancies of “normal” face-to-face interactions, in which both partners are assumed to have similar levels of social information about the other (as well as similar capabilities to retrieve and record this information). The current study simulated a fictitious “Looking Glass” program that (a) auto-detected (via facial recognition) one’s partner and (b) displayed that person’s last 12 social media posts on Glass. In a randomized case/control experiment, non-wearers were more likely to perceive Glass-wearers as physically attractive and socio-emotionally close, while feeling lower self-esteem and having higher mental and physical demand with the conversation. Open-ended data suggested Glass wearers to be less attentive to the conversation, and Glass-present conversations were less on-topic. These data hold implications for future application of and research into what we refer to as cyborgic face-to-face interactions: non-mediated yet technologically augmented social interactions.
Citation: Bowman, N. D., Banks, J. D., & Westerman, D. K. (2015, May). Through the Looking Glass: The impact of Google Glass on perceptions of face-to-face interaction. Paper to be presented at the International Communication Association, Puerto Rico.Through the Looking Glass (Self): The impact of wearable technology on perce...
Through the Looking Glass (Self): The impact of wearable technology on perce...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Sport Fans and Sci-Fi Fanatics: The Social Stigma of Popular Media Fandom
Sport Fans and Sci-Fi Fanatics: The Social Stigma of Popular Media FandomWest Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Through content analysis of their coverage on a large-scale media event, this paper examines the difference of agendas set by traditional media (represented by newspapers) and new media (represented by micro-blogs) in China. The results show that the agendas discussed by the Chinese people on micro-blogs are not significantly influenced by newspapers. In terms of the topics of the news, newspapers are more concerned with the Chinese economy and people's livelihood while micro-blogs are more concerned with political and legal reforms in China. As for media tone, newspapers are more likely to cover the event positively while micro-blogs tend to be negative. These findings that the Chinese government may be incapable of exercising their traditionally strong media agenda influence over newer digital media suggest that Chinese citizens, or netizens, may enjoy more freedom of speech in micro-blogging.
Zhang, G., Bowman, N. D., Shao, G., & Guan, D. (2015, May). “The people dissent, or The People’s consent?” Comparing news agendas of traditional and new media surrounding a large-scale Chinese political event. Paper presented at the International Communication Association, Puerto Rico.The people dissent, or The People’s consent? Comparing news agendas of tradit...
The people dissent, or The People’s consent? Comparing news agendas of tradit...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
College students use their social media profiles to create and (normally) maintain a positive presentation of their self-identities in an expansive online social network. According to the social identity model of deindividuation effects (SIDE) model, when students identify strongly as a member of a group, they may craft posts that reflect this group identity, which may or may not be seen as acceptable to others in their social network. In a one-to-many form of communication like a social media website, a person may have many small groups of people in their social network, but their audience is their entire network as a whole. This study analyzes how group identity shapes the way people post updates. Students from a large Mid-Atlantic university were surveyed about their group identity and their own social media posts. By analyzing and comparing their actual Facebook posts to their survey responses, a direct relationship between strength of group identity and group-conforming Facebook posts was expected.Mountaineers Are Always Free (To Post Online): Facebook and Group Identity P...
Mountaineers Are Always Free (To Post Online): Facebook and Group Identity P...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
The current study explores the impact of dissonant origin information (information about character origin that counters audiences’ prior knowledge) on dispositional shift (movement from more to less extreme judgments). In a 2 (action: pro- or anti-social) x 2 (outcome: rewarded or punished) x 2 (canonical/control or dissonant origin) between-subjects experimental design, participants receiving dissonant origin experienced greater dispositional polarization (that is, dramatic shift) – from extreme positive to extreme negative judgments; these effects intensified when the character’s actions were anti-social.“Web-sling to save or shoot to kill?” The impact of dissonant origin and ant...
“Web-sling to save or shoot to kill?” The impact of dissonant origin and ant...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Research has yet to identify causes for jealousy reactions on social network sites. An experiment examined how message exclusivity affects jealousy responses to a hypothetical scenario. A total of 191 students were randomly assigned to imagine their emotional and behavioral responses to an ambiguous message given by their partner to a romantic rival in a private Facebook message (high exclusivity) or posted publicly on the rival’s Facebook wall (low exclusivity). Those reading high exclusivity messages reported more negative emotion and were more likely to confront. Threat perception and negative emotion predicted confrontational behavior. There was an indirect effect of exclusivity on threat perception through negative emotion. There was no direct link between exclusivity and threat perception.
Citation: Cohen, E.L., Bowman, N.D., & Borchert, K. (2014). Private flirts, public friends: Understanding romantic jealousy responses to an ambiguous social network site message as a function of message access exclusivity. Computers in Human Behavior, 35, 535-541. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2014.02.050Private Flirts, Public Friends: Understanding Romantic Jealousy Responses to ...
Private Flirts, Public Friends: Understanding Romantic Jealousy Responses to ...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Video games have long been understood as an entertaining and popular medium, and recent work has suggested that at least part of their appeal rests in their ability to foster feelings of sociability and belonging with others. From this, we expected that following an episode of social ostracism, playing video games with other people would be an enjoyable experience due the game’s ability to restore one’s social needs. However, in a 2 (social inclusion vs. social ostracism) x 2 (choosing to play alone vs. co-playing) quasi-experimental design, individuals who were socially ostracized in a ball tossing game reported no deficit in their subsequent enjoyment of the video game- reporting above-average enjoyment - while individuals who were socially included reported significantly lower enjoyment when playing alone compare to all other conditions. These effects held, controlling for individual sex, trait need for belonging, video game self-efficacy, and individual performance at the game. These results ran counter to predictions regarding the socially restorative power of video games following a social ostracism episode, and offer insight into how social scenarios might foster expectations of entertainment media products.
Citation: Bowman, N. D., Kowert, R., & Cohen, E. (2014, November). When the ball stops, the fun stops too: The impact of social inclusion on video game enjoyment. Paper to be presented at the National Communication Association, Chicago.When the ball stops, the fun stops too: The impact of social inclusion on vid...
When the ball stops, the fun stops too: The impact of social inclusion on vid...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Taking an initial step to empirically investigate cultural conjecture about stay-at-home mothers' (SAHMs') and working mothers’ (WMs') rivalry, the purpose of this study was to identify the content of stereotypes held for these subgroups of mothers. Through open-ended responses from SAHMs, WMs, and a broad non-parent sample, 5,523 traits of SAHMs and WMs emerged. Following coding procedures used in previous stereotype research (Hummert, Garstka, Shaner, & Strahm, 1994; Ruble & Zhang, 2013), the authors grouped the traits into 28 SAHM and 21 WM stereotype categories. The SAHM stereotype categories align with traditional views of womanhood, feminism, and family structure and reveal positive evaluations of mothering ability. Examples of the SAHM stereotype categories include: “domestic,” “caregiver,” “family-oriented,” and “ideal mom.” The WM stereotype categories align with non-traditional views of womanhood, motherhood, and family structure and reveal negative evaluations of mothering ability. Examples of the WM stereotype categories include: “determined,” “independent,” “work-focused,” and “substandard mom”. SAHM and WM stereotypes provide evidence for both stagnant and progressing ideals of women such that SAHMs are perceived as feminine, heterosexual housewives who are solely competent at mothering and WMs are perceived as independent, strong women who lack maternal instincts. Building on social identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1986) and subsequent theorizing (Cuddy, Fiske, & Glick, 2007), these results lay groundwork for further assessment of these stereotypes, particularly their prevalence, valence, and links to specific family and intergroup communication practices.Stereotypes of Stay-at-Home and Working Mothers
Stereotypes of Stay-at-Home and Working MothersWest Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Guided by Rhetorical and Relational Goals Theory, this study examined college students' perceptions of effective teaching behaviors. Specifically, students (n = 209) were asked to design their ideal instructor by prioritizing ten teaching behaviors and characteristics from rhetorical and relational traditions (i.e., assertive, responsive, clear, relevant, competent, trustworthy, caring, immediate, humorous, disclosure). Results indicated that students preferred teacher clarity, competence, and relevance from their instructors. Teacher self-disclosure, immediacy, and caring were considered to be luxury behaviors rather than necessary behaviors. Academic beliefs (i.e., learning orientation, grade orientation, academic entitlement) were significantly related to many student preferences for effective teaching behaviors.My Ideal Professor: Examining College Students' Preferences for Effective Tea...
My Ideal Professor: Examining College Students' Preferences for Effective Tea...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
For our lecture on 6 November 2014, a copy of the PPT slides from Chapter 10's discussion. NOTE: These are the PPT slides for Section 001 only (TR, 11:30 am to 12:45 pm), shared due to technological issues in class during that day's lecture. Enjoy!WVU COM 105 - Chapter 10 (Advertising)
WVU COM 105 - Chapter 10 (Advertising) West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Paper presented at Meaningful Play 2014, East Lansing, MI, 16 October 2014
Popular opinion of digital games tends to classify them as toys, diversions and distractions, however this focus on games solely as sources of hedonic pleasure is theoretically, empirically, and phenomenologically myopic – it obscures the full range of affective, emotional, and cognitive experiences that one can have when playing digital games. In this vein, this study explores the phenomenal experience of enjoyment and appreciation in massively multiplayer online games, addressed through players’ descriptions of favorite gameplay memories. Through emergent thematic analysis of these descriptions and statistical analysis of individual differences, we demonstrate that elements of online game content can be both enjoyed as ego-driven reward and achievement and appreciated relationally with respect to other players, characters, and the gameworld. However, memorable game experiences are not necessarily experienced as having entertainment value, such that games scholars should be more inclusive of what is considered as important to players – potentially the win, the worth, and the work of play.The win, the worth, and the work of play: Exploring phenomenal entertainment ...
The win, the worth, and the work of play: Exploring phenomenal entertainment ...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
For Fall 2014, WVU Department of Commnication Studies is hosting an informational meeting on Monday, September 8 for undergraduate students interested in learning about our two student organizations: Lambda Pi Eta and the Undergraduate Communication Association. WVU: Lambda Pi Eta + UCA Meeting (Fall 2014)
WVU: Lambda Pi Eta + UCA Meeting (Fall 2014)West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Early in graduate school, scholars are introduced to the foundational epistemologies and ontologies of their fields. Similar to the way in which children tend to adopt the world-views of their parents, young scholars tend to acclimatize to the theoretical and methodological assumptions of their advisors. In this process, scholars learn to harness the tools of their chosen focus of study, often at once mastering one tool-set and becoming blind to the potential utility of others. In this presentation, we present the results of a line of research on player-avatar relationships (PARs) that has successfully leveraged the seemingly-inherent friction of two very divergent approaches to research: interpretative scholarship aimed at generating rich data from conspicuous participants (in which the data analyzed are subjective accounts of human experiences gathered using quasi-ethnographic methods) and post-positive scholarship aimed at gathering broad data from anonymous participants (in which the data analyzed are observed cognitions, attitudes or behaviors produced through survey and experimentation). Initial solutions from both camps produced competing explanations regarding PARs – the former suggesting them to be best framed as authentic social relationships, the latter suggesting them to be best framed as para-social affinities. Subsequent studies theoretically and methodologically blended both approaches, resulting in a broader and deeper conceptualization of PARs that accounts for counterintuitive patterns in the qualitative data and substantially improves variance explained by data models designed to understand uses and effects.
Talk delivered at the University of Muenster, Thursday July 24. Images contained are not property of authors, with exception of data tables and figures. You say dāta, I say däta: Harnessing the friction of competing epistemologie...
You say dāta, I say däta: Harnessing the friction of competing epistemologie...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Draft slides of Dr. Nick Bowman's talk at #UTSMW, the University of Tennessee's Social Media Week 2014. Dr. Bowman represents WVU on the panel "Using Social Media to Engage Students In and Out of the College Classroom" on Wednesday, April 2 at 9:05am. More information at: http://www.cci.utk.edu/social-media-week
NOTE: All images in this presentation are attributed to their original source, in the "notes" section of the PPT file; images without attribution are the creation of Dr. Bowman. Social Media for the Social Classroom
Social Media for the Social Classroom West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
The raw "talking points" from Dr. Nick Bowman's guest lecture to the Entertainment Arts and Engineering (EAE) students at the University of Utah. Media Psychology and Human Communication and YOU
Media Psychology and Human Communication and YOUWest Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
The past 15 years of social science research have seen an explosion in curiosity surrounding video games as a legitimate object of study – a medium that traces its roots back to at least the 1950s. While early research on games tended to quixotically focus on the anti-social effects of video games on users, emerging perspectives consider myriad uses and functions of video games as a psychological, communicative, and social tools. Much of this diversity can be attributed to a renewed focus on the player, with scholars working to understand the experience of the “squishy bits” behind the computer screen. Drawing from a variety of original studies, the presentation will translate player-focused media research to a diverse audience of designers, programmers and researchers. Topics covered include the mechanics of cognitive skill and game challenge, psychology of audience effects, habitual and (morally) intuitive decision-making, the social nature of player-avatar relationships, and the overall complexity of entertainment experiences as “more than just games.”
Who's that behind the screen? A player-focused perspective to understanding v...
Who's that behind the screen? A player-focused perspective to understanding v...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
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An avatar is “an interactive, social representation of a user” (Meadows, 2008, p. 23) in a digital environment. Although avatars broadly include textual screen names or social network profiles, we specifically discuss here the two- or three-dimensional graphic
bodies representing players in online games. These bodies are at least partially controlled by players as they engage a game – in movement, gesturing, communicating, and acting in/on the world – and these interactions constitute a multimodal gaming
literacy that is central to play (Gee, 2004).From toy and tool to partner and person: Phenomenal convergence/ divergence ...
From toy and tool to partner and person: Phenomenal convergence/ divergence ...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
This paper proposes a validated 15-item scale that merges theoretically divergent perspectives on player-avatar relations in extant literature (parasociality as psychological merging and sociality as psychological divergence) into a single instrument that measures player-avatar interaction (PAX). PAX is defined as the perceived social and functional association between an MMO player and game avatar, inclusive of four factors: emotional investment, anthropomorphic autonomy, suspension of disbelief, and sense of player control. These four factors were stable across two large multi-game (N = 494) and game-specific player samples (N = 458), in both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Construct validity tests show scale dimensions have expected significant relationships with a sense of human-like relatedness and player-avatar relationship features, and predictive validity tests indicate theoretically likely and relevant factor associations with gameplay motivations and MMO genres.Emotion, anthropomorphism, realism, control: Validation of a merged metric f...
Emotion, anthropomorphism, realism, control: Validation of a merged metric f...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Advancements in wearable technology have allowed for social information to be inserted directly (albeit conspicuously) into face-to-face interactions. One example is Google Glass, worn similar to a pair of eyeglasses but with a digital display which can provide the wearer an augmented reality of extra-dyadic cues – such as social information (culled from social media programs) – about one’s conversation partners. Such interactions might violate expectancies of “normal” face-to-face interactions, in which both partners are assumed to have similar levels of social information about the other (as well as similar capabilities to retrieve and record this information). The current study simulated a fictitious “Looking Glass” program that (a) auto-detected (via facial recognition) one’s partner and (b) displayed that person’s last 12 social media posts on Glass. In a randomized case/control experiment, non-wearers were more likely to perceive Glass-wearers as physically attractive and socio-emotionally close, while feeling lower self-esteem and having higher mental and physical demand with the conversation. Open-ended data suggested Glass wearers to be less attentive to the conversation, and Glass-present conversations were less on-topic. These data hold implications for future application of and research into what we refer to as cyborgic face-to-face interactions: non-mediated yet technologically augmented social interactions.
Citation: Bowman, N. D., Banks, J. D., & Westerman, D. K. (2015, May). Through the Looking Glass: The impact of Google Glass on perceptions of face-to-face interaction. Paper to be presented at the International Communication Association, Puerto Rico.Through the Looking Glass (Self): The impact of wearable technology on perce...
Through the Looking Glass (Self): The impact of wearable technology on perce...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Sport Fans and Sci-Fi Fanatics: The Social Stigma of Popular Media Fandom
Sport Fans and Sci-Fi Fanatics: The Social Stigma of Popular Media FandomWest Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Through content analysis of their coverage on a large-scale media event, this paper examines the difference of agendas set by traditional media (represented by newspapers) and new media (represented by micro-blogs) in China. The results show that the agendas discussed by the Chinese people on micro-blogs are not significantly influenced by newspapers. In terms of the topics of the news, newspapers are more concerned with the Chinese economy and people's livelihood while micro-blogs are more concerned with political and legal reforms in China. As for media tone, newspapers are more likely to cover the event positively while micro-blogs tend to be negative. These findings that the Chinese government may be incapable of exercising their traditionally strong media agenda influence over newer digital media suggest that Chinese citizens, or netizens, may enjoy more freedom of speech in micro-blogging.
Zhang, G., Bowman, N. D., Shao, G., & Guan, D. (2015, May). “The people dissent, or The People’s consent?” Comparing news agendas of traditional and new media surrounding a large-scale Chinese political event. Paper presented at the International Communication Association, Puerto Rico.The people dissent, or The People’s consent? Comparing news agendas of tradit...
The people dissent, or The People’s consent? Comparing news agendas of tradit...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
College students use their social media profiles to create and (normally) maintain a positive presentation of their self-identities in an expansive online social network. According to the social identity model of deindividuation effects (SIDE) model, when students identify strongly as a member of a group, they may craft posts that reflect this group identity, which may or may not be seen as acceptable to others in their social network. In a one-to-many form of communication like a social media website, a person may have many small groups of people in their social network, but their audience is their entire network as a whole. This study analyzes how group identity shapes the way people post updates. Students from a large Mid-Atlantic university were surveyed about their group identity and their own social media posts. By analyzing and comparing their actual Facebook posts to their survey responses, a direct relationship between strength of group identity and group-conforming Facebook posts was expected.Mountaineers Are Always Free (To Post Online): Facebook and Group Identity P...
Mountaineers Are Always Free (To Post Online): Facebook and Group Identity P...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
The current study explores the impact of dissonant origin information (information about character origin that counters audiences’ prior knowledge) on dispositional shift (movement from more to less extreme judgments). In a 2 (action: pro- or anti-social) x 2 (outcome: rewarded or punished) x 2 (canonical/control or dissonant origin) between-subjects experimental design, participants receiving dissonant origin experienced greater dispositional polarization (that is, dramatic shift) – from extreme positive to extreme negative judgments; these effects intensified when the character’s actions were anti-social.“Web-sling to save or shoot to kill?” The impact of dissonant origin and ant...
“Web-sling to save or shoot to kill?” The impact of dissonant origin and ant...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Research has yet to identify causes for jealousy reactions on social network sites. An experiment examined how message exclusivity affects jealousy responses to a hypothetical scenario. A total of 191 students were randomly assigned to imagine their emotional and behavioral responses to an ambiguous message given by their partner to a romantic rival in a private Facebook message (high exclusivity) or posted publicly on the rival’s Facebook wall (low exclusivity). Those reading high exclusivity messages reported more negative emotion and were more likely to confront. Threat perception and negative emotion predicted confrontational behavior. There was an indirect effect of exclusivity on threat perception through negative emotion. There was no direct link between exclusivity and threat perception.
Citation: Cohen, E.L., Bowman, N.D., & Borchert, K. (2014). Private flirts, public friends: Understanding romantic jealousy responses to an ambiguous social network site message as a function of message access exclusivity. Computers in Human Behavior, 35, 535-541. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2014.02.050Private Flirts, Public Friends: Understanding Romantic Jealousy Responses to ...
Private Flirts, Public Friends: Understanding Romantic Jealousy Responses to ...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Video games have long been understood as an entertaining and popular medium, and recent work has suggested that at least part of their appeal rests in their ability to foster feelings of sociability and belonging with others. From this, we expected that following an episode of social ostracism, playing video games with other people would be an enjoyable experience due the game’s ability to restore one’s social needs. However, in a 2 (social inclusion vs. social ostracism) x 2 (choosing to play alone vs. co-playing) quasi-experimental design, individuals who were socially ostracized in a ball tossing game reported no deficit in their subsequent enjoyment of the video game- reporting above-average enjoyment - while individuals who were socially included reported significantly lower enjoyment when playing alone compare to all other conditions. These effects held, controlling for individual sex, trait need for belonging, video game self-efficacy, and individual performance at the game. These results ran counter to predictions regarding the socially restorative power of video games following a social ostracism episode, and offer insight into how social scenarios might foster expectations of entertainment media products.
Citation: Bowman, N. D., Kowert, R., & Cohen, E. (2014, November). When the ball stops, the fun stops too: The impact of social inclusion on video game enjoyment. Paper to be presented at the National Communication Association, Chicago.When the ball stops, the fun stops too: The impact of social inclusion on vid...
When the ball stops, the fun stops too: The impact of social inclusion on vid...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Taking an initial step to empirically investigate cultural conjecture about stay-at-home mothers' (SAHMs') and working mothers’ (WMs') rivalry, the purpose of this study was to identify the content of stereotypes held for these subgroups of mothers. Through open-ended responses from SAHMs, WMs, and a broad non-parent sample, 5,523 traits of SAHMs and WMs emerged. Following coding procedures used in previous stereotype research (Hummert, Garstka, Shaner, & Strahm, 1994; Ruble & Zhang, 2013), the authors grouped the traits into 28 SAHM and 21 WM stereotype categories. The SAHM stereotype categories align with traditional views of womanhood, feminism, and family structure and reveal positive evaluations of mothering ability. Examples of the SAHM stereotype categories include: “domestic,” “caregiver,” “family-oriented,” and “ideal mom.” The WM stereotype categories align with non-traditional views of womanhood, motherhood, and family structure and reveal negative evaluations of mothering ability. Examples of the WM stereotype categories include: “determined,” “independent,” “work-focused,” and “substandard mom”. SAHM and WM stereotypes provide evidence for both stagnant and progressing ideals of women such that SAHMs are perceived as feminine, heterosexual housewives who are solely competent at mothering and WMs are perceived as independent, strong women who lack maternal instincts. Building on social identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1986) and subsequent theorizing (Cuddy, Fiske, & Glick, 2007), these results lay groundwork for further assessment of these stereotypes, particularly their prevalence, valence, and links to specific family and intergroup communication practices.Stereotypes of Stay-at-Home and Working Mothers
Stereotypes of Stay-at-Home and Working MothersWest Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Guided by Rhetorical and Relational Goals Theory, this study examined college students' perceptions of effective teaching behaviors. Specifically, students (n = 209) were asked to design their ideal instructor by prioritizing ten teaching behaviors and characteristics from rhetorical and relational traditions (i.e., assertive, responsive, clear, relevant, competent, trustworthy, caring, immediate, humorous, disclosure). Results indicated that students preferred teacher clarity, competence, and relevance from their instructors. Teacher self-disclosure, immediacy, and caring were considered to be luxury behaviors rather than necessary behaviors. Academic beliefs (i.e., learning orientation, grade orientation, academic entitlement) were significantly related to many student preferences for effective teaching behaviors.My Ideal Professor: Examining College Students' Preferences for Effective Tea...
My Ideal Professor: Examining College Students' Preferences for Effective Tea...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
For our lecture on 6 November 2014, a copy of the PPT slides from Chapter 10's discussion. NOTE: These are the PPT slides for Section 001 only (TR, 11:30 am to 12:45 pm), shared due to technological issues in class during that day's lecture. Enjoy!WVU COM 105 - Chapter 10 (Advertising)
WVU COM 105 - Chapter 10 (Advertising) West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Paper presented at Meaningful Play 2014, East Lansing, MI, 16 October 2014
Popular opinion of digital games tends to classify them as toys, diversions and distractions, however this focus on games solely as sources of hedonic pleasure is theoretically, empirically, and phenomenologically myopic – it obscures the full range of affective, emotional, and cognitive experiences that one can have when playing digital games. In this vein, this study explores the phenomenal experience of enjoyment and appreciation in massively multiplayer online games, addressed through players’ descriptions of favorite gameplay memories. Through emergent thematic analysis of these descriptions and statistical analysis of individual differences, we demonstrate that elements of online game content can be both enjoyed as ego-driven reward and achievement and appreciated relationally with respect to other players, characters, and the gameworld. However, memorable game experiences are not necessarily experienced as having entertainment value, such that games scholars should be more inclusive of what is considered as important to players – potentially the win, the worth, and the work of play.The win, the worth, and the work of play: Exploring phenomenal entertainment ...
The win, the worth, and the work of play: Exploring phenomenal entertainment ...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
For Fall 2014, WVU Department of Commnication Studies is hosting an informational meeting on Monday, September 8 for undergraduate students interested in learning about our two student organizations: Lambda Pi Eta and the Undergraduate Communication Association. WVU: Lambda Pi Eta + UCA Meeting (Fall 2014)
WVU: Lambda Pi Eta + UCA Meeting (Fall 2014)West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Early in graduate school, scholars are introduced to the foundational epistemologies and ontologies of their fields. Similar to the way in which children tend to adopt the world-views of their parents, young scholars tend to acclimatize to the theoretical and methodological assumptions of their advisors. In this process, scholars learn to harness the tools of their chosen focus of study, often at once mastering one tool-set and becoming blind to the potential utility of others. In this presentation, we present the results of a line of research on player-avatar relationships (PARs) that has successfully leveraged the seemingly-inherent friction of two very divergent approaches to research: interpretative scholarship aimed at generating rich data from conspicuous participants (in which the data analyzed are subjective accounts of human experiences gathered using quasi-ethnographic methods) and post-positive scholarship aimed at gathering broad data from anonymous participants (in which the data analyzed are observed cognitions, attitudes or behaviors produced through survey and experimentation). Initial solutions from both camps produced competing explanations regarding PARs – the former suggesting them to be best framed as authentic social relationships, the latter suggesting them to be best framed as para-social affinities. Subsequent studies theoretically and methodologically blended both approaches, resulting in a broader and deeper conceptualization of PARs that accounts for counterintuitive patterns in the qualitative data and substantially improves variance explained by data models designed to understand uses and effects.
Talk delivered at the University of Muenster, Thursday July 24. Images contained are not property of authors, with exception of data tables and figures. You say dāta, I say däta: Harnessing the friction of competing epistemologie...
You say dāta, I say däta: Harnessing the friction of competing epistemologie...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
Draft slides of Dr. Nick Bowman's talk at #UTSMW, the University of Tennessee's Social Media Week 2014. Dr. Bowman represents WVU on the panel "Using Social Media to Engage Students In and Out of the College Classroom" on Wednesday, April 2 at 9:05am. More information at: http://www.cci.utk.edu/social-media-week
NOTE: All images in this presentation are attributed to their original source, in the "notes" section of the PPT file; images without attribution are the creation of Dr. Bowman. Social Media for the Social Classroom
Social Media for the Social Classroom West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
The raw "talking points" from Dr. Nick Bowman's guest lecture to the Entertainment Arts and Engineering (EAE) students at the University of Utah. Media Psychology and Human Communication and YOU
Media Psychology and Human Communication and YOUWest Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
The past 15 years of social science research have seen an explosion in curiosity surrounding video games as a legitimate object of study – a medium that traces its roots back to at least the 1950s. While early research on games tended to quixotically focus on the anti-social effects of video games on users, emerging perspectives consider myriad uses and functions of video games as a psychological, communicative, and social tools. Much of this diversity can be attributed to a renewed focus on the player, with scholars working to understand the experience of the “squishy bits” behind the computer screen. Drawing from a variety of original studies, the presentation will translate player-focused media research to a diverse audience of designers, programmers and researchers. Topics covered include the mechanics of cognitive skill and game challenge, psychology of audience effects, habitual and (morally) intuitive decision-making, the social nature of player-avatar relationships, and the overall complexity of entertainment experiences as “more than just games.”
Who's that behind the screen? A player-focused perspective to understanding v...
Who's that behind the screen? A player-focused perspective to understanding v...West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
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- 1. Open to all WVU undergraduate and graduate students; Communication Studies majors eligible for $2,000 scholarships Want to learn more? Contact Dr. Rebecca M. Chory Professor of Communication Studies Rebecca.Chory@mail.wvu.edu 108 Armstrong Hall Note: Information and program are subject to change